CEP-810 has been better than I could have imagined. I have, not only, met my goals for the class but I have surpassed them. Many of the applications are adaptable right away to my classes in spite of not having a great deal of technology at my disposal. Social networks stick out immediately; I can start a blog for each of my classes to upload notes and assignments, imbed videos and links that can aid student learning, and provide forums for student to student or student to teacher interactions. I like the potential of Twitter (and similar), and though there are some privacy issues, many of those issues have been ebbed in my mind, and it is great the professional development ideas that are offered on the networks. Overall, the course has rejuvenated me and has me trying to think outside of the box like never before.
I wish we could have gone over Prezi, Capzules, Time Toast and Cloud Computing. Curse the person who did not unlock the classroom door! However, it turns out that we were using Cloud Computing applications w/ Google Docs and Diigo. Very tricky, Tammy! Google Docs and Diigo were very useful for our group assignment. It was great that we could edit and/or improve each other's work. The others could be used in my classes as alternative method of presenting the sequential problem solving techniques that are prevalent in math. Also, I wish we would have been able to go into website design because I think students would have fun designing one for their class or whatever research they were doing. I would not be surprised if that topic comes up in a future class.
The assignment that I felt exemplified good teaching was the SIG presentation. It had us in cooperative groups where each member of the group had to research a topic or topics, and it had us using many of the technologies that were taught in the class such Google Presentation, social networks, and screen dumps. The beauty of it for me was being able to communicate with my group members via the internet and not having to play phone tag or meet at a central location. All of these traits and more have my brain working overtime to think of ways to integrate the internet and other technology into future lessons.
I am very enthused about Educational Technology, and I have three long term goals. First, I will continue taking classes toward a Master's in Ed Tech. I love the hands-on nature of technology and I need to keep up with its rapid changes. Secondly, I am working on plans to give the kids more opportunities to use technology, such as internet video tutorials, interactive lessons, and social networks, to help kids learn math. Finally, I will be a leader at my school and district in advocating the use of technology in the classroom. We're too "20th century" and need to help students meet the demands of the modern workplace.
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